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New gas piping

Clarification --- This is about gas piping after the gas co. meter in buildings. See JT's post #7

Got asked Thursday if I do gas piping. I replied no as I'm not certified for that. Happened to talk to the guy again today for something else and again he asked me about doing piping. He said it is "new" work as in no gas involved yet & no cert necessary. They are starting a condo complex soon & he described it is a big main into the basement and pipes running up to each unit. There is no written procedure. The welder cuts a hole with a torch & welds a fitting on for the stove/heater/whatever connection. They pressure test to 100 psi & if a leak is found you just weld more. I couldn't beleive it but he says that's it. He is a forman for a large plumbing contractor. It sounds like all the major piping is done but when they get there they need to tie in.

I'm just wondering if anyone has done anything like this? I always thought you had to have a cert to do gas pipe work?

Thanks for the replies. I should have been a little clearer. I'm not planning on doing this job. Just looking into the future if maybe I want to look into doing this type of work & trying to get some first hand info. Was hoping someone would answer who has actually done this type of work. He said it is 1/2# pressure when in service & they test it to 100#.

When you use the term "gas piping" you are covering several, very different fields of work.
Starting at the well head there is a collection system, this requires a qualified procedure and certified welder with minimal to medium inspection.
Then you get to the transmission lines that run at 2000psi where the fedral regs call for strict procedures and harsh inspection.
Next is the distribution system, after the town valve, these require lower testing/inspection/pressures.
What you are asking about is after the gas company meter, there is little or no inspection required and no federal regs there and plumbing companies hire any and all welders that they see fit. Air pressure tests here are 80-100psi. The plumbers pay when the low ball plate welder attempts to weld pipe.
I've seen plumbing contractors loose large amounts when they try to save money in low pressure systems and even go under on large jobs. Plate welders are not pipe welders.
I've also made significant money repairing those post meter systems after a low price plate welding co tries to enter pipe world and left leaks here and there in a hard deadline project : ).

Jt, Thanks for the clarification. It's exactly what I was looking for. I am smart enough not to just jump in & do something like this without the research. I have done numerous small piping skids in a shop & tons of fittings for a water tank co. but never dealt with gas. It's just something I'll think about for the future. At least I know more today than yesterday.

JT. for some of those welders it must be the over their head position that gets them. I saw one of these going on in my local hospital the other day, was out of town contractor, its a fairly decent sized outfit but seemed to consist of a couple old timers standing around in shorts yakking it up on the phone,,, probably figuring out some reason they couldnt do the job and one apprentice looking type hustling around looking disgusted at the other 2,,,, obviously everyone is getting paid, sometimes you got to wonder why the money doesnt seem to run out?

Good info, I too have done alot of clean up over the years, Usually for me its structural stuff however.
Its usually because they dont know how to figure angles or they dont know the codes so they do part of the job and never come back.

Or when it comes to restaurant stainless they arc, mig or braze it and then I have to fix it.

And then there is Dirty aluminum that many people cant do - Engine blocks, fuel tanks, oil pans etc.
I have ran across some oil coolers that were just too thin for me to weld on the fins so I have to terminate them back to the tank and delete the fins.